The counselor is committed to addressing, together with the Canarian administrations, short and medium-term measures to tackle road problems and the housing emergency in the Islands.
Rodríguez has presented at the parliamentary headquarters the strategic lines of his department for the next four years
The Minister of Public Works, Housing and Mobility of the Government of the Canary Islands, Pablo Rodríguez, reported today in a parliamentary committee on the strategic lines and objectives that the Ministry proposes for this legislature, highlighting that short-term measures will be analyzed to provide a response. agile to the current needs of the Archipelago in terms of mobility and housing.
To address the housing emergency, the counselor explained that the Canary Islands Housing Institute (ICAVI) and Visocan are working on several projects to provide a more efficient and faster response to this problem, such as the acquisition of unfinished housing developments; access to empty homes, essential to incorporate properties into the public stock, as well as the important commitment to public-private collaboration, through contracts with private operators so that they can build homes that would later be made available to citizens.
“We are aware of the number of housing seekers that exists in the Canary Islands; For this reason, we insist on the need to multiply efforts to respond as soon as possible and guarantee access to housing for all Canary Islands, because we cannot base our policy solely on construction, since it does not address the problem in the short term. and medium term.”
In addition, he announced that ICAVI is working on a special program for palm trees, 'La Palma 700', an initiative that aims to cover the existing needs on the Island with 17 actions in 11 municipalities. On the other hand, a specific initiative will also be developed for the entire Canary Islands aimed at combating the depopulation of rural areas through the offer of publicly promoted housing; or the launch of a pilot project aimed at tackling unwanted loneliness, through the use of intergenerational buildings.
Commitment to sustainable mobility
On the other hand, Rodríguez has referred to the area of Mobility, and has highlighted that to advance in terms of roads it is not enough to implement new road infrastructure, but rather it is necessary to opt for innovative alternatives that focus on multimodality and the promotion of more sustainable modes of travel.
At this point, he referred to the recent tender that the Ministry has put out for the preparation of the Strategy for Sustainable and Intelligent Mobility of the Canary Islands, an instrument that will project the mobility policy of the Archipelago in the next three decades, and that proposes integrate all forms of travel under efficiency parameters.
Likewise, it has indicated, however, the need to conclude the works that belong to the previous Highway Agreement and that should have already been completed, as a result of the State's failure to comply with this agreement, and has reiterated its commitment to carry out important actions of the current one. Agreement, which already has fifty percent of the committed budget.
“In my previous stage I approved or put out to tender the projects for the works that are currently being carried out. We barely have 700 million euros left to commit in the coming years, so we will have to prioritize the most important actions that are most effective and offer solutions on each Island,” said Pablo Rodríguez.
Regarding the bonuses to users for public land transport, the counselor has highlighted that the regional Executive will continue working to maintain and increase aid with the aim that the Canary Islands can continue benefiting from this 100% discount on the price of the fertilizers for the next exercises.
“The reasons that supported the application of this bonus still exist and have no signs of disappearing, so the commitment of this Ministry is to maintain this bonus for the 2024 financial year. As soon as I took office, I requested a meeting with the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda to address this matter and I have not yet received a response.”
Management of the maritime space of the Canary Islands
Councilor Pablo Rodríguez has highlighted the importance of the incorporation of the new General Directorate of Coasts and Management of the Canarian Maritime Space which, working together with Puertos Canarios, will allow the Canary Islands to be the epicenter of the economy in the Atlantic, putting into practice initiatives that meet the objectives of economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
